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5 Biggest Myths about Residential Wind Turbines

June 27th, 2009

Wind is a very popular source of alternative energy. Unlike solar, a properly setup wind turbine will generate electricity throughout the day, day and night for years to come. You can save a good part of your energy bill with a wind power system. But if you are a victim of the myths created around generating residential wind power, you might end up losing money instead of saving. 5 Biggest myths associated with residential wind power are listed below. Before you start your project check whether you are a victim of any of these myths. Otherwise it will be too late.

Myth No 1 – Building a wind turbine will power your home

A Residential Wind Turbine at Work

A Residential Wind Turbine at Work

Most people think building a wind turbine will power their homes. But the wind turbine is Only One of the essential parts of your residential wind power system. There are other essential elements to complete it. First you have to store the generated electricity. Lead-acid batteries are commonly used for this purpose. You have to regulate the electricity coming from the turbine and charge these batteries to store electricity. Once stored, you will have to convert the stored electricity to AC current with correct voltage to power your home appliances like your lighting. If this is not performed correct your electric equipment can blow or will not work.For this purpose an inverter is used. Then there are various other equipment like meters, switches, electric circuits and safety devices to complete your home wind system. All these are equally important.

Myth No 2 – It is very easy to produce wind power

Building a wind turbine is not rocket science. You can do it yourself without any doubts. But it is not easy as you may think. You must have a good design to start with. When you do it yourself, I suggest using a proper guiding document. These guides can be found in the internet for around $100. But as you know internet is filled with junk products. So to choose a proper guide look at the experience of the author. He should have done this by himself. Guide should be simple and even an average person with little technical skills should be able to follow it. Check for the testimonials to get a feel about how others think about the product. Check whether site gives you testimonial proofs (this is required to check whether these are genuine).

Investing few dollars for a proper guide(or a book) can be the most important decision you make in your entire project. There are two advantages of using a good guide. First it will save you money, time and effort in making your wind power system. Secondly it will make sure you achieve intended result.

Myth No 3 – It is costly to build a wind turbine on your own

People think it is costly to build a wind turbine. In fact some people will spend 1000’s of dollars in building them even without achieving the intended results. But in reality it is not that costly to build a wind turbine on your own even if you are not an expert. There are some guides which will show you how to build a residential wind power system for less than $200 in your own backyard.

Myth No 4 – It is noisy

Yes, wind mills make noise. But how much of noise is the question. A Good quality wind mill will only be loud as your refrigerator. In other words a good quality wind mill is very silent. To make your windmill noise free, you have to be careful in every step in building it. You will have to choose correct parts (No, Not expensive parts, but good quality parts) and you must follow a professional design.

Myth No 5 – It will reduce the value of your property

Some people have reported drop in their property value after they build their wind systems. But some people have experienced exactly the opposite is true. Their property value has gone up when they built their wind mill. Interesting question is why any potential buyer should be upset for getting free electricity. It is mainly to do with the looks of your turbine. A wind turbine is the first thing anyone would see because it is a tall structure. So your wind turbine should look professional. A professional looking wind turbine will increase the value of your property, while silently saving you thousands of dollars every year.

If you were blinded by any of the myths above I believe now you are feeling relieved. Wind is a powerful energy source. It is one of the easiest and efficient ways of powering your home. Once you set up your residential wind power system, it will produce electricity for years to come with minimal maintenance.

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The Future of Wind Power Lies in the Spirals of the Helical Wind Turbine

June 26th, 2009

The pressing need for the world to find clean, renewable resources that won’t harm the environment has become a task we can’t ignore any longer. Out of all the renewable resources in this world, the easiest and most viable resource is the pure untainted power that comes from the wind.

For centuries, mankind has harnessed this power. It has powered the sails of our ships to discover new and uncharted lands. It has driven our wind mills to grind our grain. And it has given us the power of flight, helping what would seem impossibly heavy aircraft to soar gracefully through the skies. Wind is a clean, reliable source of energy that, when harnessed for electricity, doesn’t emit any pollutants or toxins into the air like the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum does.

Helical Wind Turbine Design

Helical Wind Turbine Design

Many different designs of wind turbines have been created over the years in an effort to more effectively capture wind power, and research and development still continues to fine tune these concepts. One such design that has gained a lot of popularity recently in the residential and urban markets is the helical wind turbine.

The helical wind turbine is a vertical axis turbine or a VAWT. This means that the main rotor shaft runs vertically. As an evolutionary development of the Darrieus wind turbine, a turbine created by French aeronautical engineer Georges Jean Marie Darriues in 1927, the helical wind turbine features three airfoil blades that have a helical twist of 60 degrees.

While the Darrieus model was a revolutionary concept of its time, there have been many engineering faults discovered in the design since, which has created a spark of engineering ingenuity that piggy backs on this original design. The helical wind turbine is one of the more successful design concepts that has really taken off in the urban and residential areas. That’s because it still has the power to turn from relatively low winds, which are present in an urban environment.

The Many Benefits to Helical Wind Turbines

There are many advantages to the DNA shaped helical wind turbine. The first big advantage is that they are much quieter than the turbines that consist of blades because they have slower speeds along the blade tips. This allows these types of turbines to be placed in residential areas since they are almost silent during operation 1.

One big disadvantage to the original Darrieus turbine model is that, over time or with high wind speed, the eggbeater shafts of the turbine would bend and become damaged. However, with the helical wind turbine, this damage is averted by the shape of the helical wind turbine. That’s because this unique shape spreads the torque evenly throughout the revolution of the blades and prevents this damage from occurring.

Another reason the helical wind turbine is gaining in popularity in residential and urban areas is that they only need slow minimum wind speed to start and operate the turbine. They can also be placed lower to the ground and on rooftops and they can turn no matter which way the wind is blowing 2.

Rooftop Helical Windturbine

Rooftop Helical Windturbine

Helical wind turbines can also be used in regions where there are very high wind speeds. Blade turbines often need to be shut down for safety purposes if the winds get too high. This allows more uptime for the helical wind turbine to generate electricity.

These turbines are also more eco-friendly. There have been cases where the traditional blade turbines have been reported to cause the death of many raptors and bats. However, with the helical wind turbine, the danger to wildlife has been averted with hardly any cases reported since increased installations have begun to populate the United States.

There has also been a decent amount of uproar from communities about traditional wind turbines because of the aesthetics of the actual machine. The bladed turbines need to be high enough to capture the wind and usually are coupled with several machines. Communities have argued that they devalue the surrounding property. However, the current top brands of helical wind turbines are so graceful and elegant that they have literally been used as works of art in front of hotels and shopping malls.

Small Wind Making a Big Impact with Helical Wind Turbines

One of the biggest manufacturers of the helical wind turbine is called Quietrevolution and their products can be used to harness small wind. The importance of small wind has become a hot topic lately and the idea is catching on in the United States and across the world. The American Wind Energy Association reported that there has been a recent dramatic increase in the small wind market. In 2008, the market increased almost 78 percent! The United States also sold about half of the total wind turbines worldwide last year – almost $77 million worth 3.

These small wind helical turbines can be used for net metering as well. What that means is essentially any excess electricity the turbines produce gets fed back into the grid. The power company will then pay you at the end of the year for any power you supplied. They also qualify for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which gives consumers a 30 percent federal tax credit when they install these turbines.

Clean, Pure Energy All Around Us

The use of fossil fuels as the primary source of energy has caused the environment great harm over the years. The United States alone is responsible for more than 21 percent of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is the main culprit and cause of the greenhouse effect 4. Fossil fuels also emit sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain. The earth can’t take much more abuse from our energy production methods, especially when there are abundant sources of alternative energy that leaves little impact on the environment.

With the prices of oil and gas sky rocketing in the United States, the need to find and develop these alternative resources has become unavoidable in terms of maintaining the economy as well. It is only by truly devoting our time, money, and resource into researching and developing these clean renewable energies, like wind power, can we create a world free of pollutants and toxins, with energy that will last us for all time.

Learn More About Wind Turbines

Savonius wind turbine | Darrieus wind turbine

1. The Future of Things. Quetirevolution Helical Wind Turbine. http://thefutureofthings.com/pod/163/quietrevolution-helical-wind-turbine.html

2. Wind Turbines Now. Helical Wind Turbine. http://www.windturbinesnow.com/helical-wind-turbine.htm

3. Jetson Green. Small Wind Market Surges 78%, US Manufacturers Making Money! http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/06/small-wind-market-grows-78-percent-in-2008.html

4. Energy Information Administration. What Everyone Should Know About Energy, (July 2008).

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Wind Power from the Darrieus Wind Turbine

June 21st, 2009

An Introduction to Darrieus Wind Turbine

The power of the wind has been harnessed for centuries, driving ships to new and unexplored harbors and giving the gift of flight to mankind. Wind is a clean source of energy that is easily implemented and highly effective. But at this point in time,less then 1 percent of the energy produced by the United States is derived from wind power 1.

As the amount of pollutants entering our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil continues to grow, the demand for clean, efficient energy that won’t damage the environment has the world searching for answers. Alternate forms of energy are being sought out and various methods of harnessing that energy have been researched and developed and put into action around the world. In the case of wind energy, one method of harnessing that power has been the Darrieus Wind Turbine.

The Darrieus Wind Turbine is a vertical axis turbine or VAWT, which means that the main rotor shaft runs vertically. The Darrieus Turbine dates back to 1927, when French aeronautical engineer Georges Jean Marie Darrieus patented this innovative turbine design. The Darrieus Wind Turbine resembles a gigantic eggbeater and has two main advantages. The first main advantage is that the equipment including the gear box and the generator can be placed close to the ground. The second advantage to this type of wind turbine is that you don’t need a new mechanism to turn the rotor against the wind 2.

Concept Of Darrieus Windturbine

Concept Of Darrieus Windturbine

The Darrieus Wind Turbine is a lift-type vertical axis turbine and can function effectively no matter which way the wind is blowing. This wind turbine is powered by the lift forces that are created by a set of airfoils, which are the actual wing-shaped blades of the turbine. These allow the turbine to reach speeds that are higher than the actual speed of the wind, which makes them well suited to generating electricity.

As the airfoils move forward through the air, the air flow creates an angle of attack that generates a force that gives a positive torque to the shaft of the turbine and helps it move in the direction it is already rotating. The same principles apply to a helicopter. That energy coming from the torque and the speed of the airfoils is then converted into electricity.

The Evolution of the Darrieus Wind Turbine

Several unique disadvantages have been discovered to the Darrieus wind turbine that have lead engineers to continue to modify the design although the general theory behind the Darrieus model still comes into play. The main disadvantages to the original design include the following:

  1. The efficiency of the vertical axis turbine in and of itself isn’t very remarkable. The stress that the design experiences from the high winds can often damage the turbine and cause the eggbeater shafts to bend.
  2. The Darrieus isn’t a self-starting turbine. It needs a push to get started. Some models that are connected to the grid have a small powered motor to begin the rotation.
  3. Because wind speeds are close to ground level, there is very low wind speed on the lower part of the rotor.
  4. The Darrieus Wind Turbine may need multiple guy wires to give it extra stability, but this isn’t practical in a farming environment and can make the entire design extremely unattractive.
  5. To replace the main bearing of the rotor, you have to actually remove the rotor, which means practically tearing the whole machine down 3. That’s why a lot of Darrieus turbines today are not functioning.
Giromill

Giromill

Because of these pretty serious limitations of the Darrieus Wind Turbine, several modifications have been made to enhance the productivity, efficiency, and the downtime of the design.

One common design alteration is called the giromill, which replaced the eggbeater design with straight vertical blades that are attached to a central tower. This design is cheaper and easier to build than the original Darrieus, however, they are less efficient and can at times struggle to keep up a steady rate of rotation 4

Another type of Darrieus design is called the Cycloturbine. This design mounts the blades around the vertical axis, which allows them to be appropriately pitched so they always have an angle of attack and are self-starting, a distinct advantage over the original Darrieus design.

One very recent design of the Darrieus wind turbine is what is being called the Windspire by Mariah Power. The Windspire is being used mostly for residential areas as the unit starts at only $6,500. It still follows the same principles of the Darrieus turbine design, but has abandoned the eggbeater shape for a more sleek and efficient design, not to mention more elegant. The Windspire is even being sold today as a sculpture for hotels and other commercial settings.

Darrieus Wind Turbines at Work throughout the World

There are several Darrieus Wind Turbines with the original eggbeater design still at work today, although most have been reduced to operating on rare occasions to extend the lifetime of the turbine. The largest Darrieus wind turbine is the Eole located in Cap-Chat, Quebec. It is almost 100 m tall and about 60 m wide 5 .

Eole Darrieus Wind Turbine in Canada

Eole Darrieus Wind Turbine in Canada

Another smaller turbine is located in the Sandia Laboratory in Bushland, Texas and stands 42 M high and 34 m wide. There was also an attempt to implement the Darrieus wind turbine on a large scale effort in California by the FloWind Corporation; however, the company went bankrupt in 1997.

While the original Darrieus wind turbine design is not as effective or applicable on a large scale model as we need it to be, it did lay the groundwork for further research and development of wind turbines throughout the world. Wind power is an excellent choice for providing clean, safe and reliable energy without harming the environment, and it is only by further exploration into more effective designs for the turbines that we can ultimately be free of energy sources that negatively impact the environment with harsh emissions and pollutants.

1. American Wind energy Association, Wind Power – Clean and Reliable. Http://www.awea.org/utility/pdf/wind_and_reliability_factsheet.pdf.

2. Wind Turbines: Horizontal or Vertical Axis Machines? http://www.windpower.org/EN/tour/design/horver.htm

3. American Wind energy Association, Wind Power – Clean and Reliable. Http://www.awea.org/utility/pdf/wind_and_reliability_factsheet.pdf

4. Giromill Darrieus Wind Turbines. http://www.reuk.co.uk/Giromill-Darrieus-Wind-Turbines.htm

5. Darrieus Wind Turbine Analysis. http://www.windturbine-analysis.netfirms.com/

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